Next morning.
Sunlight filtered through the curtains as the alarm buzzed softly.
The girls got up, freshened up, and dressed for the day. Li Lian in the outfit Liwei had gotten her, which fit surprisingly well. After a light breakfast of congee, steamed dumplings, and soy milk prepared by the house staff, they grabbed their bags.
Wang Liwei was already waiting by the car, as composed and unreadable as ever. He didn't say much, just opened the door and stepped in. The driver shifted gears, and the sleek vehicle glided through the streets with quiet authority.
When they arrived at Yang Capital, the car came to a smooth stop. Liwei remained silent as the girls stepped out.
Both Yixi and Lian exited with poised grace, dressed sharply and wearing the polished masks of professionalism. As Lian glanced up at the towering glass structure, her breath caught for a moment, memories of yesterday's encounter flickering through her mind. But she quickly pushed them aside.
"Let's start a new day," she said to Yixi, a smile made it's way to her face.
Yixi smiled in return, and together, they stepped confidently into the building, the doors closing behind them with a soft hiss.
The two waved at each other before parting ways, each heading toward their respective departments.
As usual, Lian greeted Zhang Wei with a polite smile. "Good morning, Mr. Zhang."
He gave her a brief nod in return. "Morning."
Settling into her seat, she opened her laptop and took a sip of her coffee, the warm bitterness grounding her as she began to dive into the day's work.
As the morning hours slipped by, the quiet hum of clicking keyboards and low murmurs filled the department. Li Lian was focused, her brows slightly furrowed as she cross-referenced a quarterly report and social media trend data for her ongoing Wang Verse Entertainment research. Her fingers moved quickly, highlighting discrepancies, jotting down notes, and building a structured financial forecast in her spreadsheet.
Unbeknownst to her, someone had been watching.
"Excuse me," came a calm but firm voice.
Li Lian looked up and found a striking woman in a navy blazer standing by her desk. Her ID badge read: "Lin Xue – Senior Financial Analyst." Lin Xue was known throughout Yang Capital for her sharp instincts and strategic mind. People rarely crossed her path without leaving a little sharper than they arrived.
"Yes, ma'am?" Lian stood quickly, adjusting her collar.
Lin Xue leaned slightly to glance at Lian's screen. Her eyes flicked between the open Excel dashboard, the neatly annotated PDF reports, and a handwritten chart comparing audience engagement versus marketing spend. "You found that variance in Wang Verse's Q3 influencer campaign reports?"
"Yes," Lian replied confidently but respectfully. "Their reported engagement numbers didn't align with third-party analytics. I traced the gap to a budget reallocation that wasn't disclosed in the original summary."
Lin Xue nodded, a rare glint of approval in her gaze. "That's not something most research assistants would catch. Or even think to check."
"I just like making sure the numbers speak the truth," Lian said with a small smile.
A pause. Then Lin Xue added, "You ever thought about switching tracks? From assistant to analyst?"
Li Lian blinked, caught off guard. "Honestly… no, ma'am. I'm still learning."
"Well, keep doing what you're doing. We're watching." She smiled, brief, professional, and promising—before walking off, heels clicking against the floor.
Li Lian sat down slowly, heart beating a little faster not out of nerves this time, but from something new. A spark. A whisper of potential.
For the first time that morning, she allowed herself a small, genuine smile.
During lunch, Yang Yufan was still buried in paperwork when Lin Xue walked into his office to drop off some reports before heading out for her break.
"All reports on Huang Core have been organized accordingly, sir," she said as she placed the file on his desk. "The company is worth the risk. If we invest now, I can almost guarantee a triple return within a few months."
Yufan glanced up briefly, offering a faint smile. "If they're earning praise from you, Lin Xue, then I have no reason to doubt them."
Lin Xue smirked lightly. "This is an investment firm, sir. We don't give handouts, we give only when we know we'll receive in abundance."
Yufan chuckled at that, already turning back to his documents.
Just as she was about to leave, Lin Xue paused. "Oh, sir, about Li Lian."
He looked up again, attentive.
"I don't think she belongs in her current department," she said thoughtfully. "She's doing the kind of work I'd expect from a junior analyst, not a research assistant."
"…You want to recruit her?" Yufan asked, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips as he finally set his pen down. "She must be something if she caught your eye."
Lin Xue didn't deny it, only raised an eyebrow with a small smile of her own.
"But," Yufan continued, leaning back in his chair, "I still want to see for myself. Until I test her, leave her be."
Lin Xue nodded in understanding. "Fair enough, sir. I'll wait… but can I at least send her on an errand?"
Yufan raised a brow. "Errand?"
She gave a sheepish smile. "I need to deliver some documents to Young Master Yifan, but my mother just set me up on a blind date I can't get out of."
Yufan chuckled, the rare sound lightening the air. "So you're using her as your escape route?"
"Just this once," she grinned.
He leaned back in his chair, amused. "This will be fun. Fine, send her."
Lin Xue offered a quick salute and turned to leave, her brow subtly raised at Yufan's unexpected amusement. The soft click of the door echoed behind her as she exited, heels fading into the corridor.
Left alone, Yufan leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk as his fingers tapped in slow rhythm. A curious glint flashed in his eyes, half intrigue, half mischief.
"Let's see how this plays out," he murmured to himself, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
Lin Xue stepped into the elevator, descending smoothly to the ground floor. After retrieving a stack of files from her office and gathering her things, she made her way to Li Lian's department.
The sharp click of her heels announced her arrival as she approached Zhang Wei's desk. "Mr. Zhang," she greeted with a polite smile. They exchanged a few words before her attention shifted to Li Lian.
"Li Lian, take this to Zhaoyue Pavilion for me once you're off work." Her tone was composed but firm as she handed over the file.
Li Lian's breath caught in her throat at the name but she managed a quick nod, masking her reaction. "Yes, ma'am."
Li Lian's clenched fists remained hidden beneath the desk, her nails digging into her palms. She bit her lower lip, hard, fighting back the turmoil rising inside her. Without a word, she rose from her seat and walked toward the vending machine, craving something cold, anything to numb the storm within.
She sank into a nearby chair, cracking open the chilled can in her hand. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she whispered to herself, "I guess this has to happen eventually… No matter how far I run, I can't keep avoiding the past."
The rest of the day passed in a haze. With earbuds in and her music set to low, Lian drowned out the world. Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she worked, her cold drink by her side. But her thoughts kept circling back to the inevitable.
And just like that, evening turned to night.
Now, she stood at the gates of Zhaoyue Pavilion, the files in her hand and her heart pounding in her chest. The grand entrance loomed ahead of her, silent and unmoving. She took a shaky breath. It's just a delivery, she told herself. But her hands trembled as she reached for the doorbell.